Doll



sept 15, 1925. f 1,553,551

C. N. REESE DOLL . Filed Feb. 2. 1920 3 sheet e 1 septp 15, .1925.

C. N. REESE DOLL Filed Feb. 2, v1920 3 Sheets-Sheet v2 sept 15,1925. l y1,553,551

c. N. REI-:ss

DOLL

und m5. 2'. 1920 s shuts-sheet 5 Patented Sept.` 15, 192.5.

UNITED STATES cnam-:s N. nnrssnor wxmrnrrn, rumors DOLL.

Application med February 2, v1920. Serial 33.355795:

To all lwhom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES N. REESE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Wilmette, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dolls, of which the following is a specification.

This inventlon relates to improvements 1n dolls and Whilewnot,` coniinedftofjatiyparticular typet''is iioreespecially lntended for dolls of better grade which have movable head and limbs.

The primary ob'ect of the invention is to produce a doll which simulates a human being more than dolls of present manufacture, and thereby increase t e value of the d oll as a plaything by making it more attractive and fascinating to children.

An important object of the invention is to make those parts of the doll which are ordinarily exposed when 'the doll is dressed and which are subjected to more or less handling by children, or some 4of them, as may be preferred, of soft rubber composition or an equivalent material which in appearance and to the sense of touch will suggest any very closely represent human flesh, and which can be manipulated in various ways to enhance the value of the doll as a plaything.

Further and more particular objects of the invention are to provide a dolls face, preferably including ears, which -can be manipulated to simulate to a greater or less degree those movements of the human face which take place when the mouth is opened as in talking or singing or chewing; also to provide a dolls hand which can be manipulated to hold articles such as a child would be apt to use; also to provide a hand flexible inwhole or in part which will remain in any position to which it is adjusted; also to provide a foot flexible in whole or in part which will yield in simulation of a human footV in walking and which may be manipulated to simulate a human foot in other respects; and also to provide imitation finger nails and toe nails to make the hands and feet more closely simulate human hands and feet.

The invention has other objects in view which will be more fully pointed out hereinafter in the detail description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings which illustra-te selected embodiments of the invention and, referring to which Fig. 1""'illustrates a doll of solid construction, and partly in section',embodying my lnvention;

Fig. 2 is a similar View showing a doll of hollow construction; d gig. 3 isl a similar view showing a stued Fivs. la, 2a and 3 are detail sectional views renewingtheIsaactraiteur@mitigated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3,-respectively;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the hollow head provided with a soft rubber mask and showing means for manipulating the chain;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line 15'-5 of Fig. 4; v

Figs..` 6 and 7 are to and plan views, partly 1n section, of a oot embodying my 1nvent1on;

Fig. 8 shows a forearm and hand in one part and Fig. 9 shows the hand with the forearm in broken lines as a separate piece;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged plan view of the hand with the fingers distended;

Fig. 11 is a plan View and Fig. 12 a sectional view, enlarged, of a finger end.

I may make a doll 1 of solid construction throughout with the head and limbs articulated in any suitable manner, or a doll 2 of hollow construction, or a doll 3 of stuffed construction, or I may make the doll in any combinations of these constructions. I may make the doll in whole or in part of rubber or equivalent material and hence the hollow construction seems at present to have the preference over the solid construction or the stuii'ed construction because it requires less material and is therefore less expensive.

In its preferred form the head 4 comprises a blank which may be solid or stuffed but is preferred in the form of a shell 5 of the general contour of a human head and hav- 1ng a lower jaw section 6 which is ,pivotally mounted at 7 within the shell. A lever 8 is connected to the lowerjaw 6 and projects through an opening 9 in the back of the neck. A mask or sheath 10 of soft rubber, or equivalent material, is stretched over the shell to completely enclose the exposed part thereof when the head is assembled in position upon the trunk 11 ofthe doll. This mask is provided with a projection 12 in the form of a nose, a slit 13 with suitably formed edges to simulate a mouth and, with projections 14 in the form of ears.

The shell may be provided with an openloo4 ing 15 and the mask with a corresponding opening 16 at the top or at some other location, as is usual in doll construction, to permit access to the interior of the head. Eyes may be painted upon the mask or glass eyes may be set into the mask, or holes may be provided in the mask to disclose the movable eyes common in doll construction.

It is the intention to paint and tint the mask to simulate a human face and it will be readily appreciated that not only by the painting and tinting effects but also by changing the physical construction of the mask a great variety of different faces and facial expressions may be provided. By operating the lever 8 the lower jaw may be vmanipulated to correspond with more or less accuracy to the movements of a human jaw in talking, singing or eating. The movement imparted to the rubber mask by the operation of the jaw 6 produces an impression of a facial movement corresponding to that of the human face and such expression will be sufficiently strong to greatly enhance the value and importance of such a doll as a plaything for a child.

It is common in doll construction to make the forearm and hand in one part and also to make them in two parts and I may embody my invention in the same manner. In Fig. 8 I have shown the hand 17 and forearm 18 made in one part and in Fig. 9 the hand 19 is made in one part and the forearm 20 in a separate part, these arts being fastened together in any suita le manner. I make the forearm or the hand of rubber in solid or hollow construction. I have found 'that if the hand is made with separated fingers, like a human hand, and the fingers properly positioned, they can be manipulated to hold various articles, such as a cup 21 (Fig. 9). I have demonstrated my invention in the form illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9 in which the tips of the thumb and forefinger of a hand are Ain juxtaposition, and I find that they can be separated sufciently to receive various articles and that they will hold such articles in much the fashion of a human hand and in sufficient resemblance to interest children.

I have further developed this idea by making the fingers separately and independently movable and adjustable to various positions to further enhance the value of the doll to children. In carrying out this refinement of the invention I provide strips 22 of metal or other suitable material which are embedded in the fingers and the hand, as illustrated in broken lines in Fig. 10. These strips are preferably bound together at their inner ends 23 or otherwise anchored in a suitable manner in the hand so that they will not work lengthwise in either direction from this end but will always remain properly positioned in the hand. I prefer to make the strips 22 of a relatively soft metal which will hold its shape so that the fingers may be bent to any position desired and when so bent will remain in that position. The strips act also as a reinforce for the fingers to increase their efficienc for holding objects which may be placed etween the lingers and in addition to this the strips strengthen the fingers and assist in preserving them 1n their proper relation to the hand. 5 l l To further increase the simulation of a human hand I prefer to provide a slit 24 in each finger at the top thereof to receive a section 25 of celluloid or other suitable material preferably shaped and colored to resemble a finger nail. The slit is so located and arranged that the section 25 may be readily inserted in a position to resemble a finger nail.

The foot 26 may be made in much the same way as the hand and it is preferably, although not necessarily, of solidl rubber construction. The foot may be' separate from the leg or it may be integral with the leg, this being a form of construction common with dolls and resembling the. arm construction so closely that it is not deemed necessary to further illustrate or describe it. A rubber foot on a doll will correspond very closely in movement to that of a human foot in walking and it can easily be made of a proper section, or of a suitable composition, to have the proper stiffness with the desired degree of iiexibility for this purpose. However, as in the case of the hand, I prefer to embed a metal plate 27 in the foot. This plate is preferably provided with projections 27 which extend into the separated toes 28 as continuations of the plate (Figs. 6, 7). The plate in the foot is preferably made of flexible metal since it is put there to provide stiffness and elasticity, and also to reinforce and strengthen the foot. The toes are preferably provided with toe nail sections 29 held in place in a manner similar to the finger nail sections 25.

In the foregoing description I have endeavored to set forth the essential features of my invention in the several forms which I now believe will be found most favorable for commercial manufacture. Appreciating the fact that it is not necessary to illustrate or describe the many different combinations which may be produced with the various parts of my invention to enable those skilled in the art to practice the same in many other forms than those herein shown and described, I have endeavored to confine the illustration and description to what I may refer to as the common or general commercial embodiments of the invention. But it should be said that the invention is susceptible of embodiment in a great variety of forms and constructions and in combinations which include the various elements of the invention to a greater or less extent.

I know that some dolls have been made very lifelike in appearance but the eat majority of dolls have, generally spea ing,

'seemedto follow a certain standard which tion. Thus, the value and importance of a doll as a plaything for a shild is Greatly enhanced. It is apparent that the slell of the head may be made in a standard form adapted to receive a great variety of the flexible rubber masks; and it is contemplated that these masks will be formed and tinted and painted to represent human faces as closely as may be desired and as can be produced. Any suitable material ma lbe used for making parts o f dolls embo ying my invention, for example, the doll may be provided with a relativel hard rubber shell for the head, a relative y soft rubber mask, rubber hands and feet, and the other portions may be made of rubber or of other material, solid or hollow. The head blank may be made of rubber or other suitable material in the solid, hollow or stuffed form and a wig may be pasted or otherwise aiiixed on the head or fastened interiorly of the shell through the holes 15 ad 16. The mask preferably encloses the entire head but for some purposes it may be sulicient to provide only a face mask for suilicient size to be held in place on the head blank.

I do not limit myself in any way to the particular materials, shapes or configurations, or combination of parts which I have disclosed herein but I reserve the right to make all such changes as fairly fall within the scope of the following claims.

1. A dolls head comprising a blank in the general form of a head, and an elastic mask having facial characteristics stretched in place on the blank. l

2. 'A dolls head comprising a blank in the general form of a head, and a iiexible mask enclosing the blank and having enlargements forming facial characteristics thereon.

3. A dolls head comprising a blank in the general form of a head, and a separately formed rubber head mask having facial characteristics secured in place on the blank. 4. A dolls head comprising a blank in the general form of a head, and a iexible rubber mask arranged on the blank and having solid projections thereon in the form of facial features.

5. A dolls head comprising a blank in the general form ofa head and. having a movable part, a flexible mask having facial characteristics secured -in place over said movable part, and means for moving said movable part to move the mask in simulation of a facial movement.

l 6. A dolls head comprising a blank having a movable part to represent the lower jaw of a human being, an elastic face mask having facial characteristics thereon entirely enclosing said blank, including said movable part, and tightly fitting the same, said mask having a slit located at the top of said movable part to represent a human mouth.

7. A dolls head comprising a hollow y blank having a movable part to represent the lower jaw of a human head, means for moving said part, a flexible rubber mask arranged on said blank over said movable part and having projections and enlargements to represent features of a human head, and a. slit adacent to top of said movable part to represent the human mouth.

8. A dolls hand madeofrubber and'having slits therein adjacent the ends of the fingers,l and sections held in place in said slots to represent finger nails.

9. A dolls foot made of soft rubber, ana having slits therein adjacent the ends of the toes, and sections held in place in said'slits to represent toe nails.

10. A dolls head comprising a blank having amovable part to represent the lower jaw of a human being, an elastic face mask having facial characteristics thereon entirely enclosing said blank, including said movable part, and tightly4 fitting the same, said mask having a slit located at the top of said movable part to represent a human mouth, and means for moving the movable part to open and close the mouth and 'give the mask approximately facial movement.

11. A dolls hand made of elastic soft rub-` I ber composition with the middle finger, rin finger and little finger slightly bent an with the forefinger separate from the thumb and the middle finger and bent away from the middle finger so that its end will engage the end of the thumb, the material of the ends of the thumb and forefinger being elasl tic, whereby said ends may be separated to receive an article and will elastically close to hold the article suspended from the hand.

12. A dolls hand made of flexible material, sections to represent finger nails, and means for retaining the sections in place on 

